Whitespot hawkfish

Lore & Background

The whitespot hawkfish was first formally described in 1874 as Cirrhites hemistictus by the German-born British ichthyologist Albert Günther, with the type locality given as the Society Islands. The specific name hemistictus means 'half spotted,' referring to the small dark spots on the upper body. At the same time, Günther described Cirrhites polystictus, which has its whole body spotted, but this is considered a color form of C. hemistictus, making C. polystictus a synonym.

The species has a rather elongated body relative to its congeners, with a standard length 2.8 to 3.2 times the depth. It has a large mouth extending to below the center of the eye, and the preopercle has fine serrations on its upper two-fifths. The dorsal fin has 10 spines and 11 soft rays, each spine with a single cirrus on the tip, and the membranes between the spines are notched. The anal fin has 3 spines and 6 soft rays, and there are 14 pectoral fin rays, with the lower 7 robust and unbranched. The caudal fin is marginally rounded with sharp tips to the upper and lower lobes.

Two color forms exist: a pale form with black spots on the upper half of the body, a pinkish face, and a white stripe along the flanks; and a dark form that is grey with dark brown spots over the entire body. Both forms have a white or pinkish spot on the flank, roughly equal in size to the eye.

Reader's Guide

The whitespot hawkfish has a wide Indo-Pacific distribution but appears to prefer oceanic insular waters over waters close to continents or large islands. Its range extends from Christmas Island and the Cocos (Keeling) Islands in the eastern Indian Ocean east through the Pacific to the Kiribati Line Islands and the Pitcairn Islands, north to the Ogasawara Islands of southern Japan, and south to the Great Barrier Reef, New Caledonia, and Fiji. It normally occurs at depths between 1 and 18 m, though it has been recorded at greater depth in areas of Micronesia, including the Line Islands. It is found on reef fronts and outer reef slopes exposed to waves and tidal currents.

Biologically, the whitespot hawkfish is an uncommon fish that can be found on tropical reefs at depths around 1 to 20 m. It is solitary and usually perches on coral branches, gorgonians, and rocks. It feeds on small fishes and crustaceans. The male maintains a harem of a few females. In terms of fisheries, the species is of limited importance commercially but is fished for using hook and line.

Did You Know?

• The whitespot hawkfish is the largest species in its genus, reaching a maximum total length of 29 cm.
• It has two color forms: a pale form with black spots on the upper half and a dark form with spots over the entire body.